


The Unlucky Bite

by Witchtomez



Series: Mysme Halloweek 2018 [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Frottage, Humor, Mild Blood, Naked Cuddling, Non-Penetrative Sex, Prompt: Treat, Supernatural Elements, Vampire Bites, Vampire!Yoosung, prompt: Free day (Modern Vampire AU), vaguely described OC as MC?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-08-20 14:46:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16557767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchtomez/pseuds/Witchtomez
Summary: Had Yoosung known he was going to be bitten for trying to help a staggering drunk friend out of a bar, he’d have just called him a cab.





	1. Morsel of Luck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Scummy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scummy/gifts).



> [A/N: Korea doesn’t actually have much in the way of Vampire folklore, so there are some liberties here from the Western traditions, but if you’re familiar with the Vamp themed K-dramas then you already know this, lol.]

This had been going on for three solid weeks now; half a year before this. Yoosung knew he wasn’t cut out for the life of a vampire, but…well, there was no helping it; had he known he was going to be bitten for trying to help a staggering drunk friend out of a bar, he’d have just called him a cab.

The fact that said friend was a very drunk, _very belligerent vampire_ was just the icing on the shit cake—the stupid bite mark on his forearm still hadn’t closed up, so he’d taken to covering it with his wrist watch.

He remained crouched beneath the trees in the park across from the apartment building, bemoaning his woes to a pair of cats that flopped on the grass at his feet. Naturally, they were of no help but they were at least cute to look at and affectionate, seemingly never bothered by his cold fingers.

Heaving a great sigh, Yoosung surrendered to his moping and joined his furry companions in lying on the grass beneath the shade. Having to switch to night classes to avoid the headache brought on by sunlight through the windows wasn’t too terrible, he supposed; the other lifestyle adjustments however…

The problem was that Yoosung wasn’t stealthy enough for someone that needed to consume blood at least once a month.

Nor was he apparently stealthy enough to sneak into a blood bank without being caught.

Which brought him to this moment in the park, positioned across from the apartment building of the registered nurse he’d accidentally befriended weeks ago.

Though, he’d been effectively stalking her for months.

“No—not stalking,” he corrected himself, ‘I was gonna ask her if there were any similar conditions to mine and then maybe see if there was some easier way to get blood… _when I could get over how incredibly stupid and creepy that sounds aaahhhHHHH_!”

Yoosung rolled over until his face was flat against the earth. One cat moved to smell his hair curiously before pawing at the bouncy tufts; the sensation was a bit ticklish but he supposed it almost felt like the feline was trying to comfort him.

Slowly, Yoosung pushed himself to a sitting position, rubbing the dirt off his pale face and settling his palms on his thighs.

“Ok—I’m gonna do it: I’ll ask her tonight–!”

“Ask who what, Yoosung?”

A zing of surprise raced down his spine and Yoosung flew backwards until he hit the tree behind him. When he stopped shrieking, he noticed it was the very woman he was agonizing over the whole time. Kindly hiding her amusement behind her coffee cup, she smiled sympathetically and Yoosung let out a long, shuddering sigh that he attempted to pass off as a chuckle. Stepping through the hedge, the nurse surveyed the party happily.

“Well, if it isn’t all my favorite people in one setting!” she exclaimed as the cats rolled to their feet, tribbling and leaning into her outstretched hands. The breeze swayed through the leaves, earning a few burbling chirps and soft cawing from the crows amongst the branches; despite the peaceful scene before him, Yoosung couldn’t seem to fight down his flustered nerves as the woman let down her hair in front of him. Swallowing hard, he made a shaky attempt at a joke while she continued to busy herself with loosening the long tresses until he could compose himself.

“I-I’m here too, you know,” he smiled, carefully pressing his lips together. Narrowing her eyes, she flashed him a reproachful smile.

“I said what I said—you saved my life, how could you _not_ be one of my favorite people?”

...

Despite his condition, he still couldn’t fight down a flush of color to his face; it had happened a few weeks ago when a leering pervert followed the woman from her bus stop and down the street. Instead of going toward her home, she’d circled the well-lit areas of the park in hopes of finding help, or at least witnesses. Yoosung had just left the local corner market, frowning at the bag of raw meat he was going to have to use for sustenance when he heard the cacophony of birds screaming in the direction of the adjacent park.

When he saw the woman sprinting through the brush, Yoosung dropped his groceries and was already between her and her assailant with a speed that he knew wasn’t natural—but there was no time to worry about that. More than just being a pervert, the man was definitely trouble: he’d stumbled out of the shrubbery, waving an unsheathed box cutter at the crows that kept diving and swooping to attack him.

As if sensing Yoosung would take over the situation, the birds dispersed back to the leafy canopies, content to watch; At that moment, Yoosung remembered feeling wholly uncertain of the confidence placed in him. Vampire or not, the man was still quite a bit taller than him and definitely more deranged.

“Out of my way…” the lowlife graveled angrily, flashing the blade in his palm. Clearly he shared Yoosung’s estimation of his ability to handle this situation.

Nonetheless, now certain that the man was determined to be a danger, Yoosung refused to back down.

“Why are you chasing after a woman at night with a knife like a psycho in a scary movie?”

Apparently, this was not the question to ask—rather than dignify the question with a response, the degenerate charged with the box cutter locked into his fist. Yoosung could practically hear his veins surge with adrenaline as his pupils blew out.

This could have ended badly except Yoosung couldn’t figure out why the man suddenly appeared to be moving _so slowly_.

By the time the blade lunged forward, Yoosung had already stepped to the side and firmly grabbed the man’s wrist with absurd ease.

He didn’t expect the bloodcurdling scream of pain -–Yoosung was sure he’d not gripped so hard. Letting go after the box cutter had clattered to the cement, he kicked it away and stepped back. The attacker’s face colored with equal parts rage and incredulity; the dissonance from the treetops rose to a feverish pitch as a fist came for Yoosung’s face.

Without really exerting much effort, Yoosung had calmly hooked the inside of the arm and stepped in to bump the man’s hips to shake his foundation, using his own momentum to twirl and throw him back into the direction he’d charged from.

Yoosung didn’t think he’d absorbed all that much from the single day he’d spent in the Judo club, but he was pleased to see his form had done the job…if only a little _too_ well: his opponent had sailed clearly over the hedges and past the tree trunks, crashing bodily into the back of the benches that sat beside the pond…benches that were at least ten meters away.

It was a great relief when a police officer showed up to arrest the incapacitated culprit—at least until the policeman attempted to recruit him for civil services after witnessing Yoosung’s seemingly impossible take-down of the criminal. When the officer had gone to throw the pervert into the back of the car, Yoosung had taken that opportunity to dive into the nearest building—thankfully, one with a cybercafé on the second floor.

He’d felt bad for leaving without checking on the woman who had been chased, so he kept his eye on her while she filed a report with the policeman before he drove away. Yoosung watched as the she held her arms closely folded over her front; leaning her head back, her long hair swam around and she looked like she was attempting to calm her heart rate, but from his vantage point it almost seemed like she had turned her attention to the line of crows that sat on the power lines overhead.

Yoosung had been certain that after composing herself, the lady would simply turn and resume her commute home.

He didn’t expect that she’d enter the café, find him and then join him at the window counter with a plate of food and two coffees. It was then that Yoosung had realized he hadn’t just rescued just any regular citizen from assault (or worse):

It was the very same, _very cute_ nurse that had treated his bite wound all those months ago; a woman he had watched cautiously off and on for months since the hospital visit, hoping and wondering if he could trust her with the questions he was too anxious to ask.

...

…Questions she was now curious to know as she sat across from him presently, smiling with a cat leaning into each hand. Tilting her head, she hummed thoughtfully.

“Hmm…I’m going to guess you aren’t asking me for a date then?” Her smirk widened as Yoosung somehow managed to grow even paler.

“I-hggh—huh? _Hah_?”

Head thrown back in laughter, she waved dismissively.

“Don’t look too panicked, I’m only teasing.”

Yoosung barely had a moment to feel a bit of relief, though he couldn’t help but suspect he had somehow slightly disappointed her, judging by her averted eyes.

It could have simply been the noisiness of the animals around them catching her attention—they were certainly excited today for reasons beyond human comprehension. All the same, the lady was correct in assuming he had questions for her…even though the words were caught on his tongue. Still…the opportunity was as good as it was ever going to be.

“I…I need some help, but I…’ he trailed off, gulping down a breath before exhaling shakily, ‘…I’m afraid to seek a doctor. I don’t know how to say this, but I…I…”

She watched him silently, deep in thought until a small smile returned to her lips.

“My shift ends at 4am, I can help you then—‘pausing, she gestured for him to place his phone in her hands before tapping some notes into his memo app. ‘This is my apartment number, and this is the code to get in—and I’ve sent myself a text so you have my number and can ask me anything while I’m out.”

_**'..?!'** _

Yoosung balked in confusion; surely she wasn’t…?

“I would suggest you try some of the coconut water in the fridge, but you’re welcome to whatever I have in there. When I come home, we can discuss your issues privately, okay?”

Before what was happening had fully registered in Yoosung’s brain, she was stepping back through the hedges to get to the sidewalk.

“W-wait! Are you really just...letting me _stay_ in your home until you come back…?”

There was a halt in her pace before she looked back over her shoulder with a smile, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail.

“Yoosung, even if your actions hadn’t already vouched for you, _they_ have; just sit tight and I’ll be back before too long.”

Keeping his purple irises focused on her until she disappeared from sight, Yoosung tried to shake the uneasy feeling he had. This was going too easily and just what did she mean by that? Who is ‘they’?

…and why were the cats apparently waiting for him at the crosswalk?

He could only pray he’d have more answers than questions by the next morning. Stuffing his phone back in his pocket, Yoosung joined the waiting felines at the street corner, following them once the light turned in his favor. The entire situation was becoming infinitely more bizarre, yet…

…it was kind of nice to be trusted in spite of the strangeness.

For the first time in a long while, Yoosung felt like his luck might be turning up.


	2. Palate Reset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After almost a year of middling compromises and dismal discoveries, Yoosung can finally taste progress.

Despite the bizarre accident that led to a complete upheaval in Yoosung’s lifestyle, he was finding his new routine to be a bit of an improvement over his old life.

_If one could look past the obvious hindrance of being a vampire._

And for a vampire, he was a bit of an oddity at that as well; Yoosung had wondered if perhaps the location or circumstances of his bite influenced the strangeness of his symptoms as they were similar but not quite to the severe extent of most vampires in modern media. 

For starters, he could bear sunlight--but not without gaining a headache within a few hours; The blood diet appeared to be in line with the stories, but he was relieved to find that the craving seemed to be in a cyclic rhythm of maybe a few days a month. The supposed abilities were a bit of a mystery noted upon reflection; Yoosung was quite certain that there was no natural reason for that violent altercation with the blade-wielding lecher to go quite as easily as it had. 

Not that he could _complain_. While Yoosung loathed violence (another inconvenient factor in regards to his new diet), he was relieved that his ghastly condition came with a few benefits that allowed him to come through the ordeal virtually unscathed.

The fact that he'd managed to protect someone, especially _her_ , was something he definitely couldn't deny feeling great about. 

The first night he’d been granted access to the home of the nurse that had initially treated his bite wound, Yoosung had been a bundle of nerves. Aside from the unusual situation, he had never been inside a woman’s apartment by himself (if you didn’t count the two lazy cats that had led him inside)—he didn’t know what was okay for him to do or touch, so he spent the first two hours sitting rigidly on the couch while fidgeting with his phone to try and relax.

Just when he had calmed down enough to grow bored, his text notification tone went off sending him into a startled panic.

[Did you try the coconut water yet?]

[You’re free to try anything else in the fridge, but I’m curious to know if the water works…sorry, I haven’t done my shopping yet. ]

Yoosung had stared at the message for a solid five minutes, thoroughly confused. He tentatively made his way to the kitchen and found a few cans of the beverage in the door—worryingly enough, there wasn’t a whole lot else in the fridge save for a few eggs, and remnants of takeout leftovers…

“Ah! I should text her back but…what do I say?” Not wanting to be rude, Yoosung looked around for an idea of what to respond with only to be met with light snoring from the furry pile perched atop the couch.

Settling back on the sofa, he’d opened the can and took a sip: it wasn’t much in terms of flavor, but…it finally felt like something had settled into his stomach. Taking another swig, Yoosung was baffled that the annoying twinge of hunger pain that signaled the approach of his blood-thirst began to ebb ever so slightly. He couldn’t honestly say that he was satisfied, but it was a _start_.

Opening his text messages, he pulled up the reply box and willed his fingers to stop trembling.

[Hi! I did find the drink…I can’t say it really tastes like much…I’m sorry ]

[But it kind of fills my stomach the way normal food used to? Is that normal?]

He waited a moment, tipping a bit more of the can into his mouth when the reply came.

[Haha, yeah, coconut water isn’t my favorite for anything, but it can be used in a pinch as a blood plasma alternative. I figured it might be worth trying to see how it affects your appetite until I can get home. ]

[My desktop is on if you get bored. The toilet is the second door down the hallway—but please use the kitchen sink to wash your hands for now…I wasn’t expecting company and realized I haven’t put away all my laundry yet. >_< ]

Yoosung spluttered, choking on the bland drink. Putting his hands over his face, he willed his embarrassment to recede—when that failed, he resorted to finding ways to distract himself. Turning on the desktop monitor, he clicked open the browser and began looking up recipes for leftovers.

.

.

.

By the time 4AM rolled around, the nurse had arrived home to find Yoosung halfway through the process of making a ketchup star on a rather attractive omurice plate. Flustered at her sudden arrival, she’d merely dissolved into giggles and dug in her bag until she extracted a liter of blood.

“It’s near its expiration, but maybe it will still be okay?” she had laughed. Yoosung had blushed despite his pale pallor, but slid the plate over to her.

“The same could be said for some of the ingredients, but I think it should be fine,” he lightly teased, a tiny smile working across his lips. After the last several months of solo research and multiple dead ends, it was a bit of a blessing to be able to share in a joke with someone, however small.

Once she set the bag to rest in a bowl, she handed the end of the tubing over to Yoosung and opened the roller clamp; Yoosung began to feel his self-conscious anxiety flare at the prospect of drinking a bag of blood like it was simply a novelty juice drink, but his companion didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

“Let’s eat,” she said, using her spoon to divide the omelette in half before digging at the side closest to her. Yoosung took a slow sip of the bag, fearing the worst—but the moment the viscous content touched his tongue, he felt a wave of relief like none he had experienced since the whole ordeal started all those months ago. The blood from raw animal meat he had been consuming until this point had served to satiate his hunger, but Yoosung had felt as though he were in a perpetual state of recovery from an illness that wouldn’t quite end.

While he still couldn’t say he enjoyed this diet, it was a marked improvement; looking up across the dining counter, Yoosung was further relieved to see that the meal he had prepared was received quite well judging by the smile on her face—but then he saw that half the omurice remained on her plate.

“Is uh…does it taste alright?” he asked gently. Meeting the nurse’s eyes, he was suddenly reminded of how it felt to be warm as she beamed.

“It’s fantastic, I’m kind of sad you didn’t come over earlier when the kitchen was full of ingredients!”

Yoosung had to pinch the tube to keep from doing a grotesque spit take before chuckling despite himself.

“I’m glad, but—but why are you only eating half?”

At his inquiry, she pulled out a small journal, flipping to a page with bullet points logged.

“Well, if I’m going to help you, I need to know how you respond to a multitude of options. Obviously human blood seems to work best for you, but I’m curious to know how you respond to regular food once you’ve met your blood requirement,” the woman explained nonchalantly, sliding the plate back toward him.

Sucking in a breath, he prepared himself to be disappointed. Everything Yoosung had eaten when his blood-thirst had peaked tasted like ash in his mouth, at least until after he’d consumed. After happening upon the bit of pork blood collected at the bottom of a bag of ground pork, he had been depressed to find that while the animal blood had sated his hunger, the mapo tofu dish he had made with the meat afterward tasted a bit bland…but some flavor was better than none at all, or so he rationalized.

But…this was his first time consuming human blood. Maybe the situation would be different? Yoosung kept his eyes on the food as it was scooped up and held out for him to bite; he was so stressed he didn’t even have it in him to be nervous about the fact that he was essentially getting a secondhand kiss.

There was the sweetness of ketchup, soon balanced by the creamy saltiness of the egg and soy sauce he'd used. The finely chopped carrots and onions absorbed the flavors well while retaining some of the buttery flavor during the initial sauteing--

\--Yoosung hadn’t realized that the tears had slipped from his eyes until the spoon was placed in his hand and the drops were thumbed away gently. 

“It’s all right. Take your time; you did a really good job!” 

It may not have appeared civilized, the way he had begun shoveling food into his face as though the taste might fade quickly; if the sight offended the woman, it did not show in her expression even when she gently wiped the corner of his mouth with a grin. 

Her smile was so tender; Yoosung couldn’t help but return one of his own, hurriedly wiping his eyes with his cuff. With a hoarse chuckle, Yoosung had noted that he could also taste the salt of his own tears.

It was a strange thing to be grateful for, but he was thankful nevertheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who is unsure of why ground pork would be in a tofu dish, please look here:
> 
> https://www.justonecookbook.com/mapo-tofu/
> 
> It's a very quick and easy dish, perfect for busy students ^^


	3. Unfamiliar Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding comfort within a new "normal" sets up a great stage to explore what else one can enjoy.

 

 

After that night, it had become routine for them to send texts to each other, keeping each other afoot of their work and class schedules; fortunately for Yoosung, much of his veterinary curriculum had some level of overlap with her training, so there were many nights where Yoosung would just bring his textbooks along with whatever groceries the nurse happened to be lacking at the time.

It had become a very comfortable groove; one that Yoosung had been very hesitant to admit had been a vast improvement over his regular life. Having a beautiful, selfless and easygoing best friend to welcome him in to her home so often that he practically lived there gave a sense of peace Yoosung had been prepared to never experience.

And as with all good things, that too, came to an end when Yoosung began to notice a sense of wistfulness settle in his gut when he would watch her quietly.

He didn’t _dare_ let himself want for more; reasoning that his cold hands and sunlight sensitivities would get in the way of any true normalcy that she was more than capable of having, even though she had the innocent compassion to regard his abhorrent diet as something akin to a simple food allergy.

“Don’t be greedy, Yoosung Kim. She’s given you so much just by letting you trust her with your condition—don’t try to become even more dependent on her,” he’d muttered to himself after paying for a small bag of groceries; he didn’t want to burden her with his feelings in addition to his secrets.

 _But sometimes she made it so very hard._  
.  
.  
.

Case in point: Yoosung entered her doorway as usual, setting the small sack of convenience store drinks down on the entryway table. There was the telltale shuffling of house slippers coming from the hall, and that's when Yoosung froze.

As a nurse, it wasn't strange to see the woman in scrubs until opting for more comfortable lounge wear at the earliest convenience.

So when she strode into the living room in a fluttery dress with a gradient dyed skirt that ended at her mid-thigh, Yoosung felt his tongue swell as it sat in his mouth uselessly. The hair that was only ever tied back or let down was now bundled into low pigtails that fell over her shoulders and curled at the bottom; A flash of light signified a coin-sized labradorite cabochon pendant hung from her neck, though a strong sense of propriety kept him from letting his eyes roam to where the jewel _actually_ sat.

Averting his gaze to something much safer, Yoosung returned to sorting through the bag for the drinks he'd purchased.

"Ooh, you remembered my favorites! Thank you!"

A pleasant floral scent hovered closely over his shoulder; the blonde tried not to swallow too loudly, but then the grocery bag was whisked away to the kitchen for preparation. Sitting down on the couch, Yoosung quietly folded his hands and waited patiently while sneaking covert glances before the festive host returned with their appetizers: a fruity frozen yogurt drink for her and a wine glass of blood, O type, for him. Yoosung appreciated the attempt at decorative garnish, laughing softly as he maneuvered his straw around the tiny umbrella.

“Thank you,” he grinned; taking a sip, he was surprised to find the liquid to be still a bit warm. Blinking, he finally faced the nurse properly, curiosity winning out over his flustered nerves.

“Mm—an intern accidentally contaminated the bag, so it couldn’t be turned in to the bank; lucky break!”

Her delight was rather infectious at that; Yoosung couldn’t help but shyly smile while draining his glass. Though it was a relief to be able to have a regular supply, the student still felt awkward about his need for the blood in the first place—not that he wasn’t grateful for his benefactor’s casualness regarding his diet.

Emptying the rose’ glass, he leaned back and breathed calmly as he waited for the aggravating urges to subside. Opening his eyes after a moment, Yoosung found that he was the one being stared at openly; he raised a questioning eyebrow until he spotted the familiar notebook from her bag.

“That was about two minutes faster than usual—do you think the temperature made a difference?”

Fidgeting slightly, Yoosung could only nod while she jotted down the information and snapped the journal shut. He watched it disappear into the seemingly too small clutch until she closed the clasp, stood up and retrieved a dish of diced fruits before opening the balcony door.

The first few times this happened, Yoosung had been startled to find nine or ten crows fluttering on her ledge, but now he was used to their usual clamor. Standing up, he craned his head around the door frame and smiled as they crowded around the plate.

Placing a hand on her hip, the woman glared at the freeloading corvids as though she were irritated.

“Thanks for nothing, you bums,” she muttered. Yoosung held in a laugh as he found this quirk rather endearing.

“What did they do this time?”

She blew flyaway strands out of her face, pouting slightly before a smile began to tug at her mouth.

“I keep asking them for their advice, but all they tell me is ‘food’ and the young ones just suggested ‘shiny’ until they found out this necklace isn’t edible after all—so I’ll leave it to you then; would you mind being seen with me in public looking like this?”

His eyes widened; judging by the covert twinkle in her dark eyes, Yoosung had suspected his discreet glances before were not discreet enough.

_'Lady…are you serious? I feel like I’m gonna get arrested if I look directly at you and that’s only if I don’t burst into flames—‘_

“…Y-you look fine!’ Yoosung could only congratulate himself on not panting audibly until he digested the rest of her question, ‘—um, but w-why do you ask?”

Overlooking his stammer, she smiled and pulled up her phone to show what appeared to be the itinerary for the evening.

“Banpo Moonlight Market; have you had the chance to go at all yet?”

“No, I was too focused on school and then…I…well, you know…” he admitted, fingers twitching and twisting at his hem.

“Then this should be great, the night market is perfect for us! Everything is pretty streamlined and organized…and while we’re there, we can see how fast all your taste buds recover after you’ve replenished yourself.”

A slight bubbly sensation tickled at Yoosung’s thoughts as he thought of the various food trucks that lined themselves along the river amidst the lights and music. Something seemed to nag at his mind however; he struggled with the feeling that he was forgetting something particularly significant but couldn’t quite put his finger on it…

“You really think it will be okay? I think I have enough money for maybe one or two things, but—“

Her dismissive wave halted his trail of thought.

“Come on now, I’m inviting, so it’s my treat—besides, how much have you spent bringing me ingredients the last few months?”

Yoosung flushed, opening his mouth to protest only to have a rolled up blanket thrust into his arms.

“That’s differ—what’s this for…?”

“It’s for us to sit on; can you fit it into your messenger bag?”

That’s when it hit him.

This particular market was known for more than the standard food stalls and the brightly lit floating islands connected by bridge.

This market was actually known to be _the spot_ for couples.

Though his body had generally felt cool to the touch ever since being bitten, Yoosung was quite certain a misting of sweat had collected at the back of his neck; part of him felt compelled to bring this fact to her attention…but another, slightly more selfish part of him chose to remain silent.

After everything she had put into dressing up and planning for the evening, it would be cruel to dash all her efforts, wouldn’t it?

While the internal debate raged on, another alarming thought began to intervene.

‘ _What if she knows already?_ ’ Yoosung shook his head instinctively.

‘ _That’s impossible, just wishful think— **wait.** Why did she ask if I would be okay with being seen with her tonight...? That doesn’t make any—who **wouldn’t** want to—?!_’

“Yoosung? Will it not fit?”

“Mm? I’m sorry?” He froze, silencing the arguments in his mind to hear clearly.

“The blanket—is it too thick to fit in your bag?”

“…Oh! No, I think I can…yeah, there we go; it’s in, haha!”

Yoosung restrained himself from visibly cringing at his own awkwardness, but his companion didn’t seem to even notice as she fluttered around the apartment, going over her own mental checklist of preparations. Stopping at the entryway, she slipped on a pair of strappy sandals.

_'This is really happening? I just satisfied this gross craving in record time and now a beautiful woman wants to take me to one of the biggest couple spots in the city so we can…eat tasty food…on a soft blanket...under the moonlight…and next to a river where they do a water and light show—!’_

Chiming laughter interrupted his bubbling thoughts.

“Well, it looks like one of us might be saving on subway fare—shall I meet you there?”

_‘…??’_

Following the direction of her pointed finger, Yoosung looked down to realize he wasn’t even touching the floor.

“Ah—oh! When did—?!” he faltered in the air a bit, dipping before righting himself again. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she giggled softly.

“Did you have a Peter Pan moment?”

His pulse still running a bit high, Yoosung relaxed a bit when he considered her teasing words; he was getting rather excited at the prospect of being out among a crowd of people like he was _normal_ again—but enjoying an evening out with an attractive friend who didn’t seem to mind possibly being mistaken for his girlfriend? Surely that’s as good as it can get?

The theory held water—once a smile fought its way onto his lips, he was airborne again and turning to find himself caught in her approving gaze. Between the rush of exhilaration and the promise of the evening, Yoosung let himself be brave enough to zoom over just enough to hear her soft gasp at his approach.

“I think I can save us both on travel fares, actually.”

* * *

 

  
Aside from nearly colliding with a migrating egret, they were able to arrive near the riverside festivities without suspicion by the cover of nearby trees and hedges. Tugging a stray stalk of grass from her sandals, Yoosung then took his companion by the hand as she hopped out of the brush and they made their way toward the bright lights.

Having arrived just as the sky began to darken for true nightfall, the next few hours had passed in a blur of tantalizing smells and collecting exorbitant amount of food and drink.  
The picnic blanket proved to be handy as their later arrival meant there were very few available tables for their spread; spotting a semi-secluded area near one of the riverside stages, Yoosung removed the blanket from his bag and set up base. Once everything was properly situated, the pair wasted no time tucking in to their delectable finds.

Safe to say, for Yoosung, it was the best night he’d had in a _year;_ the flavors were even richer than the scents that wafted off of each item, and **nothing** lacked in impact. Yoosung ended up eating so much he had the good fortune to even recall the flavors he had forgotten he didn’t care for. As he laid back on the soft surface, he threw an arm over his eyes and laughed weakly.

“That’s it—I’m defeated for the night. I can do no more!”

Popping the final macaron into her mouth, the woman grinned as she reached over to poke at his well-earned evening pudge.

“No room left…?” she teased, pressing lightly from the side.

“NOOOoooOoooo…” he whimpered dramatically before dissolving into laughter and rolling to the side; though Yoosung had started off the night feeling rather melancholy, he felt satiated in every sense of the word as he understood it at that moment, even though surrounded by the debris of their foodie carnage. Fishing out a plastic bag from her clutch, the trash was soon contained and tied up. With great effort, Yoosung pushed himself up to stop her from leaving their blanket.

“Nope—let me do it. You paid for most of this, so let me clean up and get some tea? Or coffee?”

Settling back to the ground, the nurse hummed thoughtfully before making a decision.

“Mm…tea, I think; green or floral, if possible?”

Her response was a bit meek; Yoosung’s belly did a flip that he suspected had very little to do with the amount of food in it, so he took the bag and lightly jogged to the nearest trash can before scanning the line of food trucks to see who would be serving the requested beverages. Spotting the café cart, he picked up his pace until a vendor’s table caught his eye.

It was one that his 'date' had lingered at before resuming pace to catch up to him—a crafter’s table full of floral scent diffusers. The flowers looked very realistic, but closer inspection would reveal them to be made of specialized paper which allowed the fragrance to travel up the stems and lightly perfume the air via the petals.

As if on instinct, the vendor caught his attention and waved him over with a smile and a simple plea to let them know if he needed assistance in making a decision. Raking his eyes over the assortment, Yoosung leaned in to gently sniff before quickly becoming overwhelmed.

“Ooh, sir, it’s okay to pick up the items if you’re careful!”

“Got it—um, actually…,’ Yoosung exhaled forcefully a couple of times before resuming his question, ‘…do you know which fragrances would be safe around animals?”

He’d clearly asked a good question judging by the booth attendant’s impressed expression.

“A wise thing to consider—you would want to avoid mostly anything containing citrus, or mint. If I may suggest, we have a jasmine set here, and a lotus set with a wider vase setting over towards the back of the table here.”

Delicately handling each one, Yoosung felt both were suitably nice; yet while he thought his lovely friend was rather like a Bodhisattva in her compassionate care with him, something about the hint of mystery in the jasmine set seemed to suit her more.

He deliberated another moment before he made his choice and paid the shopkeeper before returning to the original task of obtaining tea. Once they were set in the drink carrier and Yoosung made sure the gift was properly secured, he turned to make his way back—

—only to be interrupted by a tapping on his shoulder.

“Oh! Yoosung? It is you!”

“Zen-hyung! What are you doing here?”

A trill of anxiety ran up his spine; though he was happy to see his friend, Yoosung couldn’t help but remember the guilt he had been feeling over the quiet withdrawal from his social circles. Without admitting to the entirety of his list of bizarre symptoms, Yoosung had told the messenger group that he had been suffering massive daytime migraines and thus had switched to a night class schedule to keep his grades from suffering anymore.

While they had all been concerned about his health, they were equally supportive of his adjustments to preserve his studies; though he was still present for a few late night chat rooms, there was no denying that too had diminished within the last few months…

“Hm? Oh, you haven’t been in the messenger lately, so you probably missed it—I got something of a protégé! He was performing tonight, so I wanted to come and support him properly!”

With an ‘oh’ of surprise, Yoosung wondered if they had perhaps been listening to them while they lay waste to their food.

“What about you, Yoosung? You rarely go out anymore with that weird allergy you developed, so I was really surprised to see you—ah, wait…”

Narrowing his dark red irises, the older man leaned down with a suspicious smirk; Yoosung felt much like small mouse within a cobra’s gaze.

“Yoosung?”

“W-what…?”

“Where is she?”

Whatever blood was left in his face drained promptly under the other man’s scrutiny; Zen wasn’t particularly known to be very observant, so Yoosung was already terrified.

“I-it’s not like that, hyung! We’re just frien—!”

“—so it _**is**_ a woman! I’m so proud of you! Oi, wait—is that why you haven’t been in the messenger lately? Ahh, I can understand but still, that’s kind of…”

“Hyung! Please—,” Yoosung frantically tapped his shoulder, beckoning him closer, ‘—it’s not like that, okay? My strange symptoms and all that, she’s been helping me with it…she wanted to come here tonight so I wanted to thank her; _that’s all_.”

Zen fell quiet, but his smile was equal parts adoring and smug; there was an irritated pout tugging at Yoosung’s mouth before he even realized it.

“She must be some kind of doctor or a nurse then? Someone really smart, huh?”

Yoosung huffed, straightening his shoulders.

“A really smart nurse and I was supposed to bring tea back a little while ago,” he sighed, slightly exasperated. Zen chuckled at his sulky expression, patting his shoulder.

“Ok, let’s go then—at least introduce me to her so I can say thank you as well,” Zen said, taking the drink carrier from Yoosung’s hands.

“Eh? Why do you want to say thank you?”

“Come on, man—the rest of us support you all the way but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been worried about you…”

Yoosung hesitated, his earlier guilt resurfacing plainly on his face. Intuitively, Zen clapped the blonde on the back, prompting him to walk before he could get too mired in his thoughts.

“Don’t feel bad, Yoosung—the chat room may be a little less bright without you in it all the time, but we’re happy when you can make it. Not to mention, it will be a relief to tell the others that you’re getting help—!”

 ** _“Don’t…_** ” Yoosung whispered severely. Raising a silver eyebrow, Zen waited for him to explain.

“What if Jumin decides to investigate her background and interferes with her? Or _worse_ : what if **Seven…** ”

Yoosung broke off, feeling his blood pressure spike as much as it was able to in his condition. Hearing Jumin’s name, a look of distaste crossed Zen’s face immediately as he nodded.

“Yeah, you might be right; old Trustfund jerk might decide her papers aren’t impressive enough, that ass…ok, I’ll keep it quiet for now. But let’s—oh? Is that her ahead?”

Yoosung looked up as they drew closer, but something wasn’t right.

 

“Yes, that’s her…”

 

Hearing the uncertainty in his voice, Zen was now on alert. Leaning down next to Yoosung’s ear, he spoke in a very low tone.

 

“…Did she have other friends here?”

 

There were two men in front of her; though Yoosung was approaching her from the rear, he could see that her stance was guarded in a grounding position.

 

“Not that I was told…” he answered, picking up the pace as Zen fell into step beside him.

 

One man gripped her right wrist roughly, and Yoosung’s senses drew to a sharp focus just as they had months ago in the park; he was speeding toward her--

\--until the nearby light posts **_burst_** simultaneously, shrouding the picnic area in darkness.

"Oh shit—what the hell was that!? Yoosung!” Zen yelped in vain as he was left behind.

 

In the confusion, everyone in the area stood up to avoid being trampled, but Yoosung was still able to see it: the woman had already freed her wrist, but rather than run away, she had gripped her assailant by the collar and pulled him down so that his ears were by her mouth. Her left palm lay over the man’s eyes for a brief second before she spun him toward his accomplice.

While they struggled to regain their footing, she had already crouched and held her hands in front of her. Yoosung was almost within range, but something even more strange occurred to him: she wasn’t holding her hands in a defensive position—at least not any position he recognized.

Forming a triangle between her index fingers and thumbs, the nurse then leaned forward...and _blew_ through them.  
  
A strong gust ripped through the grounds, rousing several shrieks of surprise from the other market attendees as the winds scattered debris everywhere—but none louder than the masculine howling that sailed through the air before ending in a loud splash.

The gales left as quickly as they came, just as the backup lights began to hum to life. When everything was clearly visible again, she stood with her eyes closed, exhaling slowly before bending to retrieve the blanket.

 

Shaking his head clear, Yoosung finally closed the distance, surprising her as he took the blanket from her hands and inspected her wrists for damage and signs of pain.

 

“Are you ok?”

  
Her eyes were wide; Yoosung almost thought she seemed _afraid_ until she blinked and released a sigh of relief.

 

“Yes, I’m…I’m fine,” she breathed, a shaky smile forming. Yoosung let out his own breath of relief until he felt her tense beneath his palms as footsteps approached. Tugging her closer, he flashed what he hoped was a reassuring expression before turning toward the sound.

 

“Wow, Yoosung, I don’t know how you did it with your health, but you’ve gotten very fast since the last time we hung out—ah, excuse me!” Zen halted abruptly, catching his breath.

“Ease up on the cigarettes, hyung,’ Yoosung lightly joked; smiling at the woman, he nodded at the taller man, ‘—this is my friend, Zen; he came here tonight to support one of the performers but saw me at the tea cart.”

Zen held up a hand, giving a short bow of apology.

“Yeah, sorry, that was my fault for distracting him and leaving you unattended. I was just surprised to see him since it’s been a while—I didn’t mean to keep him from you for so long.”

Relaxing at the introduction, she leaned back with an easy smile.

“No need to apologize, I’m hardly the fragile type. It’s nice to meet you, Zen.”

Taking her extended hand, he shook cordially before smirking at Yoosung.

“The pleasure is mine, actually. I had to _work_ to convince our friend here to let me come over and give my thanks for looking after him—it seems he was pretty set on keeping you all to himself—“

“Gah, you— **hyung**!” Yoosung groaned, glaring daggers as his date turned away to laugh.

“Don’t think I didn’t catch that crack before—don’t get cocky just because you got here faster with stronger motivation,” Zen teased quietly, enjoying the surprisingly faint blush on the blonde’s face as he fumed; it really was strange to see the young man be so _pale,_ especially in comparison to his own alabaster complexion—but judging by how much energy Yoosung had in the last few moments alone, it was enough to prove that whatever treatment plan he was adhering to with this mystery woman was effective.

Seeing that things were calm and relaxed again, Zen decided it was time to make his exit; pulling the dropped bag from behind his back, he pushed it into Yoosung’s hands with a pointed look.

“In any case, it’s getting late and I need to get back and prep for my beauty rest. You two might consider heading back soon too, who knows when the wind is gonna go crazy again,’ he suggested, casting a wary glance at the sky; then, handing over the drink caddy to the lady , ‘Please keep looking after Yoosung for us, Miss. It’s a big relief to see him looking so well, so we’re counting on you! Good night!”

 

Yoosung watched him go with an irritated snort as he now owed Zen a favor for picking up the gift that he had accidentally dropped in his rush to help.

 

Now the issue was how to give it without looking silly; clamping the loops of the gift back to his messenger bag with a carabiner clip, he resumed shaking out and folding the blanket to put away.

Sneaking a glance in her direction, Yoosung saw her eyes flick curiously to the bag before darting away; he pressed a smile between his lips, finding her poorly hidden interest rather adorable. Loosening his shoulders, he leaned over.

 

“Do you want to go back the way we came, or the normal way?” he whispered, doing his best to keep his bias out of his tone. Tilting her head, she paused for a beat.

 

“…We may have eaten our train fare, so…” she admitted, laughing softly. Yoosung had to cover his mouth to keep from giggling too loudly. Standing up, he offered his arm and they made their way back to the dark foliage before taking back to the evening air and discussing their favorite finds of the night as the lights passed beneath them.

.

.

.

When he left that night, Yoosung was very proud of himself for managing to keep up the conversation…despite holding her close enough that her curled tendrils tickled at his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Banpo Romantic Moonlight Market](https://seoulseochotour.com/2018/06/10/seoul-night-market-banpo-romantic-moonlight-market/) is a real place and I would bet good money that a place like this would absolutely be on a list of the dates Yoosung wants to go on. You can check out even more pics [here](https://travel-stained.com/banpo-hangang-park-seoul-travel-blog/).


	4. First Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment of indulgence quickly becomes overwhelming.
> 
> There's something about this mystery that Yoosung can no longer ignore...

Something had changed since that evening.

Something more than the scent of jasmine that now greeted Yoosung when he entered her home; the prominent placement of his gift threatened him with gllimmers of hope that were dangerous to allow, but…seeing the diffuser perched on a floating glass shelf specifically so that the petals would glow under the recessed lighting would forever conjure up the image of her smile, brimming with pride…

Tempering the fluttering sensations that came about was now becoming _quite difficult._

Yet the ambiguity of everything surrounding that night at the Moonlight market kept them both hesitant to address any of their mysteries; instead far more eager to continue their comfortable status quo of friendly visits, study periods and shared meals.

Feeling bolstered by the glowing fragrance, still bathed in spotlight weeks later, Yoosung prompted weekly recreation dinners of the street food they had sampled together.

So it came about, nearly a month later in her kitchen as they prepared a small mountain of mayak gimbap together, having finally mastered that one dish at least. Somewhere amidst their lively conversation, one of her jokes had Yoosung nearly crying with laughter and then—

“Ouch! Oh…damn!”

With a soft gasp, Yoosung instinctively ran to grab the dish towel to stem the bleeding of her middle finger as she tossed the knife into the sink. Turning to inspect the damage, he instead found her silent; eyeing the window hesitantly.

Worry welled up in his abdomen, fearing that she was going into shock, but…

Before he could touch the cloth to her wound, she stopped her other hand over his heart; eyes roving over the cut as the blood began to collect and pool at her fingertip. Anxiously, Yoosung attempted to position the rag beneath her hand until she pulled back, taking the cloth with her. Turning her hand to keep the wound from leaving droplets on the floor, she chewed her lip thoughtfully for a beat until she appeared to come to a decision.

“Yoosung…do you trust me?”

That had caught him off guard; he’d balked at her, confused by the question. Keeping her face down, he could see she was heavily concentrating but not willing to elaborate further. Despite his alarm as the blood threatened to drip, Yoosung couldn’t help feeling drawn into her guarded gaze.

“I—of course I do, how could I not…?”

Her expression remained contemplative; somewhat charged, but a tiny smile won out.

“Okay then...please close your eyes.”

Wavering, he lowered his lids and waited. A curiously soft tickling traced his mouth, feather light and then—

_He felt something gently nudging open his mouth_

Flinching away, he caught her hand as his purple irises flew open in alarm.

“Wait! What are you—?!” he faltered at the look of disappointment and hurt on her face; the blood was starting to run down the length of the digit. Taking the towel in her other hand, she brought it over his eyes.

“Trust me, please?”

“I do! I _do_ …I just—what if something happens…?”

Her thumb ghosted down the side of his face, landing on his lips to gently part them. Yoosung forced his eyes shut and fought the urge to back away, but she seemed so sure of this and _so hurt_ when he had stopped her before…

“I think…this will help…” she soothed; her tone gentle in contrast to the electricity of her gaze.

—The second the drop hit his tongue, his nerves lit up; equal parts of satisfaction and the sensation of healing slid down his throat like a comforting medicinal soup. The everlasting presence of fatigue that he had grown accustomed to had lifted from his brain; with a gasp of realization, Yoosung understood that he somehow felt _warm_ again—not heated from emotion or embarrassment but from actual _vigor_ in his veins..

The towel had been on the floor for some time; once Yoosung’s eyes had started to re-focus, he saw his host’s face in full flush. Her eyes were half-lidded, seemingly in a trance while her teeth bit into her plush lower lip; the view sent a pleasant tingle to Yoosung’s brain until he remembered that her finger was currently wrapped _in his tongue, trapped against the inside of his cheek_ —he reeled back with enough force to slightly wind himself as his back hit the wall.

_‘Oh god…why did she look that way? Did I activate another creepy ability with fresh blood? What if…oh my god, what if I accidentally **made her** do that? Is that even possible—?!‘_

He fought down the urge to hyperventilate as fear and shame washed over him; the blonde almost didn’t realize she had already stepped past him on the way to the windowsill where she’d kept her bottled water that evening. Aside from noticing how it seemed to catch the moonlight, Yoosung had paid it no mind until she uncapped and drained half the bottle in one long swig.

Swallowing his apprehension, he picked up the towel and ran it under the water before approaching to properly clean her cut; yet when she held up her hand, the laceration had already stitched itself back together—the only evidence the skin had ever been parted was a fine sliver of silvery scar tissue that looked like it would be gone _by morning_.

Yoosung had been baffled as he scrutinized her hand, but she simply kept her mysterious smile trained on him with a fondness he felt even less worthy of receiving at that moment. Reaffirming that there was no wound to tend to, Yoosung let go of her hand as his guilt surged to the forefront of his mind.

“I…I should g-go for tonight,’ he stammered, snatching up his messenger bag and laying the towel out to dry over the back of a chair; before he could reach the front door, a gentle pressure on his arm stopped him.

“Wait, I—! I’m sorry if I pushed too far tonight…are we still friends?”

More strange questions; Yoosung almost tripped as he tried to slip on his shoes, thoroughly confused by her apologies...but at least it seemed she was fully aware of the situation, though the timidity of her query did little to assuage his conscience.

“I—of course we are! You don’t have to be sorry for _anything_ , I’m just…,’ he sighed in frustration, fighting the urge to run until this kind soul understood that she was not at fault.

‘…I’m a little freaked out about my reaction, that’s all. I just need some time alone to calm down.”

Her hands, small and soft despite their strength tentatively pressed his forearms.

“…You’re not upset with me?”

Yoosung had let out a desperate, shaky laugh—he couldn’t see himself _ever_ being upset with her, not after everything she had done for him out of sheer kindness.

“No, of course not—you…you’re too good to me.”

Yoosung had to catch himself before he said what he _really_ meant. His hands drifted upward and hovered by her face before placing them on her shoulders in a decidedly more appropriate form of comfort. Sighing in relief, she traced his forearms up to the back of his hands, squeezing them briefly before giving him a grateful smile.

“Okay then—text me tomorrow?”

Seeing that she had been properly assuaged, Yoosung gripped her shoulders before releasing them with a nod.

“I promise. Good night…” he waved, readjusting his bag and closing the door behind him.

“Good night…”

* * *

The moment his shoes were kicked off at his dorm entrance, Yoosung rushed to his desktop while haphazardly tossing his bag somewhere in the vicinity of his bed.

Normally he would have worked off the intense amount of stress through a long gaming session, but there was no time for that now; he pulled up several search engine tabs to investigate the topic of _vampiric hypnosis_.

After half an hour of sorting through side-quest walkthroughs for the popular Senior Scrolls video game, Yoosung finally found an occult wiki and sank into it for a couple of hours until he could practically recite the information verbatim from the page.

However…

Nothing he read seemed to confirm that he had influenced the woman in any way back in the kitchen; Yoosung didn’t recall making direct eye contact, nor had he so much as uttered a directive to pass ingredients, much less give an actual command.

In fact, until he had accidentally poked his lower lip whilst deciding on the ingredients at the store, Yoosung _hadn’t even realized_ that his feeding cycle was going into effect soon.

So then the only conclusion he could draw was…it really had been her own idea to turn her misfortune to his benefit.

But therein lay another problem: Yoosung could **_not_** let her do this again. This time had been accidental, but the effect of her fresh blood had been immediately apparent; given her nature, he wasn’t certain that a next time wouldn’t result in a _deliberate_ injury upon herself. 

Shaking his head to rid himself of the painful mental image, Yoosung stumbled into the restroom and washed his face as the sun began to peek over the horizon. As he toweled off his face, Yoosung watched the water seep into the drain when another thought strayed across his mind:

Why had her wound closed so quickly when it had bled so profusely? None of the webpages he had scoured for information ever mentioned anything about healing properties of vampire saliva… _so then how?_

For that matter, _what had happened that night at the market when the lights went out..?_

The more he examined their recent rendezvous, the more unusual details began to dot his memories; odd little happenstance occurrences began to look less so as he started to number them in his mind…

But then—what did this mean for the woman to whom he owed his current sense of respite and peace?

Yoosung was already certain she was unlike anyone he’d ever met but now he was beginning to suspect it was due to reasons _other_ than his futile infatuation...

The sky had already started to burn away the dusty star-strewn blues when Yoosung finally surrendered to exhaustion, tucking himself away beneath a dark comforter. Pleading until his words became soft snores, he prayed that a moment of indulgence wouldn’t end up dragging an innocent into his personal hell.

.

.

.

Just before dusk, as gold and pink faded into the darker ink of nightfall, he roused back to consciousness with a strange itching sensation on his wrist. Wrestling the strap off, Yoosung had almost let the watch clatter to the floor when he saw his bite wounds.

_One of the fang marks had nearly closed up._


	5. Main Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The table has been set and everything is laid out. 
> 
> With encouragement, Yoosung finally dives in.
> 
> [yes; the spice is here. Bone apple teet]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Little spice. Not sure how much as that's a subjective measure, but I hope it's enough to enjoy.]

<We should talk soon, but it might have to wait until the weekend. But don’t worry, I’m fine!>

This was the text Yoosung sent before he began to pace his small dorm room; he was absolutely certain he wasn’t hallucinating that one of the puncture marks that had borne this curse into his flesh was now _not even half_ its size within a span of a few hours…when it had remained stubbornly unchanged for over _a year now_.

<I’ll be here…I’m glad you’re alright.>

Yoosung read the reply with a sense of trepidation; was there something not being expressed?

<How about you? Are you ok..?> He hit send and waited a beat for the reply.

<I’m fine now that I’ve heard from you. Good luck this week!>

_‘Oh…was she really so worried I was upset with her…?’_

The thought sat uneasily on his brain, a riddle refusing to be solved no matter how he approached it. Still, it was better to do what he could rather than worry about what he didn’t understand; sending back a smiling emoji, he set his phone back on the charger and pulled out his text books to fully throw himself into exam preparation.

Somehow, the curriculum became a happier distraction from much bigger issues that loomed at the edges of his mind; when he received his grade and learned that he had made a perfect score, Yoosung was disappointed that he could only feel anxiety as his concerns became the focus of his now undivided attention.

Unable to wait any longer, Yoosung headed out as the sun was setting instead of waiting until it had sunk below the horizon—he hardly noticed that the usual headache never came, nor did he have to raise his hood over his head. Looking up when he approached the side of the building that her apartment faced, Yoosung caught a glimpse of hair floating over the edge as she bent to water the plants.

His feet were landing behind her before realizing he’d already jump-climbed his way up to her balcony; she, on the other hand, merely turned to smile at him in greeting which effectively silenced his clamoring mind for a brief second.

“How did it go?” she asked. Not registering her meaning right away, Yoosung stuttered before answering.

“O-oh! I made a perfect score—but that’s not what I wanted to talk about!”

He didn’t mean to shout, but his thoughts were all over the place. Intuitively sensing his urgency, she opened the door to wave him inside. Once Yoosung heard the latch click behind him, his arms were pulling her toward him, inspecting her fingers; then his hands were on her face, thumbs tugging gently at her cheeks. He sighed in relief when there were no sharp fangs to be found, nor had her skin lost any of the warmth of her natural…

_‘Her skin…!’_

Sensing that he was about to rip his hands from her as though burned, the woman covered his hands with hers and took charge.

“What do you need to say, Yoosung?” the healer asked calmly. Despite the strange pulse that seemed to echo in his mind, Yoosung felt his thoughts quieting down until they fell into order; he inhaled deeply and locked his amethyst eyes on hers.

“You’re…kind. Warm, funny, smart, mysterious—you…you’re so cute, so pretty that I end up staring even though I don’t mean to be creepy—“

“You’re not,” she smiled in spite of her confusion.

“Thank you, but…you’re selfless. And brave—and that _scares_ me so much that I don’t know what to do.”

Worry crept into her features, creasing her brows.

“…Why are you scared, Yoosung?”

Swallowing hard, Yoosung gently moved his hands from underneath her palms, taking the woman’s fingers into his soft grip.

“Why did you do that? Last week, I mean…what if something had happened to you?”

A click of recognition went off in her eyes; the woman blinked slowly before resuming eye contact.

“Yoosung…I was never in danger—“

“How can you know that? _I_ didn’t even know that and I was—god, what if I couldn’t stop? _What if I had hurt you_? I can’t—”

His lips were pressed shut against her gentle warmth; while his mind told him to back away, a stronger part of him was far happier to drown in the softness until she pulled back. The humming sensation remained on his mouth, but he fell silent as her kiss revealed another large problem that threatened to throw his mind into a tailspin.

Yoosung had already convinced himself long ago that his feelings were meant to exist in vain; **_they were never supposed to be returned._**

Yet here she stood, breathing just as deeply as he was in an attempt to choose her words carefully.

“There are… _many_ things I have been trying to tell you for a long time, Yoosung. Maybe just not with words, but—you knew, _didn’t you_? You knew that there were some strange things about me—“

“I—okay, some things I thought were kind of unusual, but I didn’t…I didn’t feel it was my place to say so because—well, who am I to call anything _weird_?”

How Yoosung found his voice in that moment, he was uncertain; but he knew he regretted it a bit as he watched the woman he had reluctantly fallen for press her lips together to keep the bubbling laughter from trickling out. Taking his hand, she led him to the alcove by the front door, pointing at the framed talismans that sat on either side of the entryway.

“This—this is how I knew I was never in any danger in here...though I fully believe I would have been fine without them,” she explained, except not really. Yoosung tilted his head, waiting for elaboration; her hand brushed through her own hair as she considered her next move with a slow exhale.

“…what…what else you have noticed about me— that was weird, I mean?”

Yoosung suddenly felt put on the spot, but as she looked so uneasy, he closed his eyes in an effort to concentrate.

“Mm…well recently, there was your cut that you healed up almost…almost immediately even though it was really deep,’ –she nodded, urging him on. Yoosung took a breath, ‘then there are…sometimes you…when you first let me in your home, you told me that ‘they’ had vouched for me, but I…the only ones around us were um. The cats?”

“—and the crows,” she corrected.

“Right—wait, what?” Yoosung had nodded in agreement until he realized she wasn’t getting offended or uncomfortable about what he presumed were his preposterous misgivings.

“They’re natural gossips—crows, I mean.”

Yoosung stared silently as she waited for him to continue, biting her lip restlessly. He took a cautious step toward her, then another until she was within reach; leaning down to meet her eyes, he tilted her head up carefully.

“Are you…?” he whispered, breaking off to wet his lips and try again.

“ _Are you…a wi—_?”

Holding her finger pads over his mouth, she closed her eyes and nodded fervently.

His heartbeat began to pound rapidly somewhere within his ribs, but Yoosung felt a strange sense of clarity; that made **_perfect_** sense given everything about her, from her calm personality to some of her mannerisms and habits—Yoosung almost wanted to yell at himself, realizing upon reflection that she had _never actually made an effort to hide_ her harmless eccentricities from him; but the most important question remained.

“Okay, that’s…that explains that night at the street market, right?’—she swallowed nervously, inclining her head in affirmation, prompting him to continue, ‘but…how does that protect you from me and m-my problem?” he asked, keeping his voice very low. Realizing that Yoosung was exerting effort to keep calm, it encouraged the magic user to shyly smile.

“It occurred to me…a young curse isn’t likely to overpower old generational abilities…in fact, I thought it might…” her eyes fell to Yoosung’s wrist. Before she could undo his wrist watch, Yoosung pulled his arm back nervously. Undeterred, she caught his arm in both hands, bringing it back to press her lips against the inside of his wrist above the leather strap.

“It’s nearly healed, isn’t it?”

Yoosung froze, clenching his lips between his teeth, not wanting to confirm aloud what she clearly already knew to be true; He didn’t want to give her the opening to make the next suggestion.

“Yoosung…tell me what is scaring you now; you’ve made it past my secrets, so what is left?” she coaxed, sensing his tension.

“I…I _can’t_ —I don’t want…” he began, shaking his head until her warm palms stilled his jawline.

“What is it you don’t want?”

Dark eyes peered into his and Yoosung wavered.

“I don’t want you _to hurt yourself for my sake_. I can’t ask that—not after everything you’ve already—“

There was a snort of laughter; Yoosung halted incredulously.

“Sorry! Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, it’s just—oh gosh, you’re so sweet to worry about— Yoosung, I’m a _nurse_ , **remember**? I can just extract a few vials of blood and give it to you to take at your leisure, though…”

Yoosung stiffened, color rushing to his face as he realized she was right and that there was a virtually painless way to potentially solve his problem without all the drama. His hands crept up to cover his burning cheeks as she patted his head sympathetically, moving to her supply kit.

Peeking from behind his fingers, Yoosung tried to steal a glance to see if she was still laughing; though her smile still lingered, it no longer reached her eyes. In fact, she looked rather put out…

“Can I ask something?” he spoke up, surprising the medic. Raising an eyebrow, she turned to give him her full attention. Making an attempt to still his fidgeting, Yoosung tugged down the hem of his sleeves and steeled his posture.

“…why do you look a bit sad right now?”

Pink spread over her cheekbones as she looked away, pressing her smile behind her lips.

“I’m not sad, not really—maybe just…’ she huffed, disturbing the lock of hair over her eyes as she deliberated on how to continue. ‘…I’m not sad, I was just maybe…a bit... _hopeful_ …” she mumbled the last bit through her lips, unsure of what expression she wanted to make.

_‘Hopeful??’_

Yoosung watched her as she continued to make a show of rifling through her equipment until the silence became too much; facing him at last, Yoosung was surprised to see her actually glowering as she pouted in frustration.

“…You’re really going to make me say it?”

Yoosung could only furrow his brows apologetically as he waited for clarification. Somehow, her face went from pink to a full red that stretched over the shell of her earlobes as she huffed again.

“I know we said a lot of things tonight, but…did we or did we not kind of admit…that we…”

_‘Oh…’_

He’d caught on, but kept his silence a little longer; it was so strange to see her usual confidence obscured in her flustered embarrassment, moving her arm behind her neck to scratch absently while flicking her eyes in any direction that wasn’t his. Moving in, Yoosung saved her from another agitated huff as he settled his hands around her shoulders.

“Yes, I think we did.”

She glared at him, expression flat despite the strong blush.

“You ** _‘think’_**?” she snapped, and Yoosung grinned despite himself.

“Well, I know **I** said a lot of how I feel about you, you just k—kissed me. Twice,” he coughed, failing to control his smile when she smacked his side lightly and groaned. Yoosung began to giggle euphorically; the combination of reassuring revelations and unraveled mysteries had him feeling positively giddy.

“Never mind then!” she growled, tying off a rubber strap hastily whipped around her upper arm. Placing a hand over the knot, he undid it and put it back in her bag before taking her hands in his.

“Ahh, alright, I’ll stop teasing—but I need to know, what you were hoping for?”

Genuinely concerned by her blushing discomposure, he paused as her frown softened into something more vulnerable, invoking something in Yoosung that made him want to fix it _immediately._

“…You—you’ve figured it out by now, _right_? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a long time, but I didn’t want to push too much since you were so stressed about the vampirism and having to adjust your class schedule and eating habits around it—and that was fine, don’t misunderstand me! It’s just…”

Her hands made motions to hide her face, but Yoosung kept them steady, gently urging her to continue as his thumbs circled over her knuckles.

“…Even though you weren’t ready, I was still thinking about it sometimes…imagining what it might be like if you ever…started to look at—haaahhhh I can’t say it.”

She made an attempt to move away, but Yoosung refused to let her escape. Feeling the heat framing his eyes, he knew his face now matched hers…but he had to confirm what _wasn’t_ being said.

“You…precious girl…”

She stiffened in his arms, eyes darting around before timidly meeting his, realizing that he was talking to her. He bumped his forehead to hers, lightly admonishing as he laid his brow against her crown with a soft exhale.

“…You promise that you have the power to stop me from doing anything you don’t want?”

It was almost more of a plea; Yoosung wanted to be absolutely sure of the witch’s abilities as he didn’t know what to expect of his own; she folded her lips, but waved at the doorway.

“If I’m suddenly in danger or in distress, you’ll…mm…you’ll end up either in the mountains or a lake a few kilometers away, I forget which exactly…”

He couldn’t help chuckling into her shoulder, earning a squeak of surprise. Smiling at the sound, he turned and pressed his lips to her ear.

“You might have to guide me…I don’t have a lot of—well, any practice, but I want to know if I can give you at least a little of what you were hoping for,” he whispered, a note of apology in his voice. Yoosung then felt fingers carding through the back of his hair, cradling his skull before pushing his face to hers.

Things didn’t stay as gentle as the first occasion and though this was only his second true kiss, he was eager to become proficient. Alas, he felt himself becoming quickly overwhelmed as she seemed to feed on his soft whimpers until they broke for air.

“You are the _only_ one who could,” she admitted, unable to hide the slight breathy quality to her voice. Staring into her eyes, Yoosung felt like he possibly should have asked what the extent of her magic could affect, but instinctively…he understood that this pull had nothing to do with her inherited abilities.

“Thank you,” he rasped, kissing her softly before letting her turn his head to kiss along the underside of his jawline. Yoosung closed his eyes, trying very hard to memorize the path and pressure being used; but the second he felt the heat of her tongue flick just beneath his earlobe before tracing down the length of his throat, his thoughts ground to a halt, struggling to process the sensation.

Releasing his scalp, her fingers moved artfully down his back. A groan escaped him when she dug her trained digits into the muscles behind his shoulder blades, dragging downward until they finally settled just at the base of his spine.

Somewhere in the course of her ministrations, Yoosung found himself looking up at the flushed craving written plainly in her eyes that left him feeling a little drunk with something like power—even though _his_ jacket had somehow ended up on the other side of the room.

All this time he had been suffering, denying himself even the right to _dream_ about what it would be like to know the woman he had pined for on such an intimate level and here she was, straddling him like she had trained for this very occasion her whole adult life.

Experimentally, he let his hands roam from her thighs up over her sides, taking time to gently squeeze whenever her breath caught. Feeling too nervous to run his fingers over the ample curves just yet, he leaned up to wind an arm around her back while his right hand smoothed over the skin of her collarbone and darted around to thread into her significantly longer hair—he took his cue to pull her to him once her hands forcefully smoothed the ends of his shirt over his stomach before slipping beneath the fabric.

This was getting dangerous: Yoosung knew he would melt once her fingers sank into his skin directly, so he quickly latched his mouth to her waiting neck; letting his tongue stroke and bathe the skin elicited a whole new range of sounds he desperately wanted to commit to memory, but the way her arms slid up his back to cling to his shoulders proved to be a delightful distraction…almost as wonderful as the way she pressed the soft skin of her upper body down into his.

The thin straps tasked with securing her blouse began to surrender; helping them down her shoulders with nervous fingers, Yoosung was grateful for every risky bet that didn’t end with him suddenly stranded in the mountains. It was every shivering breath and muffled moan reaped that gave him the courage to keep gambling, yet while he very much felt like he was winning, he eventually noticed it was more and more of _his_ skin that became exposed.

If his cooler body temperature was a concern, then it seemed his partner intended to remedy this with direct contact; the lovely skirt had at some point been untied and discarded, leaving her modesty guarded only by the gradually sinking hemline of the tunic blouse while more of her inviting cleavage became precariously visible—Yoosung began to panic, seeing more temptation than he was prepared to handle.

Grabbing her shoulders firmly, he pulled back to look her over carefully. Taking note of her disheveled appearance and kiss swollen lips set beneath the warm eyes framed by gathered tears…Yoosung had to forcibly remind himself that she couldn’t possibly be in any state to bewitch him…at least _intentionally_ ; the urge to continue drinking in the vision was abruptly dashed when his eyes caught the implication of something wet along the inside of her thigh and his sense of responsibility wrenched his gaze back up to meet hers.

“Y-yoosu…’ she panted hoarsely; a tear finally dislodged and slid down toward her lips, ‘…you need to finish this—I…I can’t keep—!”

Leaning in to quiet her with a kiss, he sighed and kept his forehead to hers; with a twinge of irritation he ran his tongue over his fangs, no longer unable to ignore the protrusions as they settled over his lower lip.

“You are certain about this?” Yoosung said again, determined to keep his anxiety at bay. Feeling her lips against his furrowed brow as her thumb slid over a sharp canine, his breath caught with unexpected emotion at the tenderness.

“Absolutely—just. Don’t make fun of me after.”

Instead of answering the abrupt look of confusion, the woman just smiled and kissed her way back down his neck while exposing hers. Before long, Yoosung let his questions fall to the side as he felt more than one sensation of hunger start to battle for control; focusing everything into keeping his supernatural strength in check while planting his hands firmly around the curve of her hips.

Starting at her earlobe, Yoosung planted tender kisses all the way down to the now familiar junction of flesh that sent tantalizing tremors throughout her body at his touch.

“Forgive me…and thank you.”

His breath scattered over her skin; pupils thinning to feline slits as he felt his canines extend even further with a soft hiss. Then—

“Hahh aahhn mmff–!”

.

.

.

Mind reeling, the blonde felt as though he’d been submerged in warm milk; the restorative effect from the initial experience now nearly overwhelmed him with the direct exposure and he strained to keep aware of the situation, trying to subdue the deluded exhilaration that worked to convince him that he was actually bathing in rays of gentle sunlight.

Struggling, Yoosung directed his mind to grounding methods, mentally reciting where his hands were positioned and where her hands—

**_Her hands_** —they gripped him frantically and his worry flared until he realized her tremors from before had evolved into a _very deliberate_ grinding and once again, Yoosung found himself with even less of his clothing; in the frenzy, his pants and boxers had slipped beneath his hips and there was now a very warm, _very_ wet and deliciously intense friction saturating his apparent erection through a thin layer of smooth cotton.

Waking up from the haze of bloodlust only to be dropped into the more carnal sensation sent spikes of alarm through him; the instinct-driven bouncing of her hips threatened to cause injury if he couldn’t slow her down enough to extract his fangs safely.

However, his attempt to calm her backfired immensely; she cried out at the stimulation of his grip on her thighs—

“Yoosu—ngh! I’ll—you’re gonna—!

Then **he** was the one choking on frantic gasps when she sank _her_ teeth into his shoulder with a moaning scream; his own hips now bucking feverishly, only managing to push her back at the last second before he stained her with his release.

Both of them sat back, panting heavily; Yoosung was mortified at the mess he’d made on himself until he looked at this woman _, now quite possibly his lover_ , quaking and trembling as a tiny rivulet of blood slowly dripped over her collarbone and crawled toward her cleavage. The hint of arousal that ran along her inner thigh before was now liberally coated over the inside of both legs, looming ever closer to her knees…Yoosung felt his cock twitch rebelliously at the sight, but knew he was completely spent.

Fumbling for something to stop the blood, he shucked off his pants before he could trip over them; feeling her hand tug at his, Yoosung turned to see her point at the water bottle settled on the windowsill before retrieving it for her. Though he wanted to clean his mess immediately, he didn’t dare move until the bite marks mended themselves before his eyes. Emptying the bottle, she sighed slowly and climbed shakily to her feet with a tired smile.

Reaching toward her extended hand, Yoosung followed her to the bathroom where she left him to tend to himself. When he finished, he came out to find her changed into a fresh set of clothes while she apologetically took his, sending him to the bedroom while starting the wash.

Before he had a chance to feel awkward, there was a series of thumps on the door frame as the woman stumbled against it; in an instant, Yoosung had lifted her into his arms and deposited her to the pillows.

“Are you okay?! Are you hur—?”

Placing a hand over his mouth, the witch dropped her fingers to his and tugged him into the covers with her.

“Hey…I’m—you know—I don’t have a spare set, so I’m…” he stammered, pulling a sleepy grin from her lips.

“…I’ll try to contain myself.”

Her raspy chuckling coaxed a nervous smile until he giggled lightly, wrapping his arms around her in gratitude. After a few moments of quiet breathing, Yoosung hummed into the healer’s soft hair.

“…You really wanted this? With me?”

She never opened her eyes, choosing to respond with a sharp pinch to his rump.

“OW! Okay, okay! I believe—“

Yoosung was cut off by her lips pressing against his until she broke off with a smile. Seeing the warm contentment in her satisfied expression, he enveloped her in his embrace as she pulled the covers over their shoulders for the night.

* * *

.

.

.

Yoosung was alone when he stirred awake sometime in the afternoon, but the bustling from the kitchen preemptively soothed his worry. Spotting his clothes neatly folded on the nearby chaise, he leaned over to yank the pile under the comforter so that he could shimmy into his boxers and pants where it was still warm. Extracting himself from the covers, he swung his feet over the edge and reached for his watch on the nearest shelf.

That’s when he noticed it:

The puncture wounds were **_gone_** ; only pale little dots of raised skin signified any injury had ever taken place. He hardly dared to believe it until he held his hand up to the sunlight and _nothing hurt._

“Ready to eat?”

  
Heart leaping to his throat, Yoosung turned to find her leaning in the door frame, smiling with gentle humor; his heartbeat swelled to a crescendo, realizing that not even a day had passed where he was certain he could never be normal again, never walk with her in daylight, never have herany closer than an arm’s length—

Never _have_ her at all.

And yet, today they stood in the daylight of her bedroom while she offered him his whole world and more. Crossing the room, Yoosung folded her into his arms and kept still until it registered that this wasn’t an elaborate dream and that this happiness was allowed and _encouraged._

Eventually loosening his grip, Yoosung let himself be bold as he drew her face to his; taking her soft gasps as his first appetizer.

“Yes…there are a lot of things I want to try with you, little by little, if that’s okay?”

Sensing the deeper meaning in his words, she beamed with elation. With a chaste kiss, Yoosung was led to the living room table where a whole spread of food had been laid out for him to try. Handing him a set of utensils, the woman stepped out to the patio while he happily contemplated which dish to sample first…

“Will you guys just let me have this _one thing_ and **not** spread it over the city before I can even put one foot outside my door?!“

He choked on his laughter before taking a plate out to the terrace where the witch stood squaring her shoulders against the cacophony of avian company perched on the rails.

After all, Yoosung supposed that gossip would have to be bribed in exchange for silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Just a wind-down chapter after this, thanks for bearing with me this far!]


	6. Dessert at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sweet finisher to a full course. 
> 
> After over a year of constant stumbling and adjusting, Yoosung takes a moment to tie up loose ends and enjoy the present.

 

[Yoosung★ has entered the chatroom]

Jumin Han: ?

Jumin Han: Yoosung. It’s been a while.

707: Hey hey!

Yoosung★: Hey guys! I’m glad I caught all of you here!

Jaehee Kang: It’s good to see you.

Jaehee Kang: …Are you well?  
  
ZEN: Yeah, have you two made any more progress with that?

Jumin Han: …?

Yoosung★: I was getting to that.

Yoosung★: Jumin, I know I missed the RSVP window, but would it be alright if I showed up to the afternoon press conference to help?

Jumin Han: Of course. It’s no trouble at all, but…

Jumin Han: Should we take this to mean that you’ve seen significant improvement in your condition?

Yoosung★: Yeah! I’m not 100% yet, but I’m getting close to it!

Yoosung★: Since the sun sets faster right now

Yoosung★: and the event is indoors, I should be ok!

Jaehee Kang: Oh…?

Jaehee Kang: Are you certain you should participate if you’re not yet fully recovered?

ZEN: Mm, I think he’ll be ok. It might even be good for him!

ZEN: But if you look like you’re having trouble, you have to tell us, ok?

Yoosung★: I will! ^_____^

Yoosung★: It’s just been so long since I’ve been able to help out, so I want to do something…;_;

707: there, there

707: u can always cheer us on from the cyber world!

Yoosung★: I don’t want to

Yoosung★: I want to do something!

707: Hm…if ur sure! U were looking better when u came to visit a few days ago…

ZEN: Hey

ZEN: If he says he feels up to going, let’s support him!

ZEN: I’m sure Yoosung has been taking his health seriously enough to know his limits by now.

707: Hmm…Yoosung?

707: Or

707: **The other person?**

ZEN: …..?

ZEN: Oh…man…

Jumin Han: I noticed that too.

Jumin Han: So you found a specialist then?

Yoosung★: …yep! ^^

Jumin Han: Impressive.

Jaehee Kang: There was a specialist for such a strange and rare condition? That’s amazing!

Jumin Han: Truly. I would be interested in meeting this medical talent if they have served you so well.

ZEN: God.

ZEN: And just why would she be interested in meeting you?!

707: Oh ho! A woman!

ZEN: …

707: OMG!

707: has our innocent Yoosung been having nighttime examinations with a mysterious lady healer?

707: how naughty!

Yoosung★: Seven…-_-+

ZEN: Hey. Cut it out!

Jaehee Kang: I agree. It’s rude to imply something improper when Yoosung has started to recover due to their efforts.

707: orz

707: That’s true. I went too far even for me.

707: \o/ haaaaahhhhh

ZEN: What are you doing?

707: Taking my words back. U can’t see me reaching for them? Lololol

ZEN: Stop playing around and just apologize normally.

707: Okie

707: Sorry, Yoosung. I’m really glad u found help.

Yoosung★: Me too. And thanks for checking that address for me last time.

707: Np

707: but should u really go visit someone you had an argument with right now?

Yoosung★: Oh don’t worry!

Yoosung★: I found some stuff I wanted to return to them, but we haven’t talked since before I got… anyway, I’ll just have a courier deliver it and not worry anymore.

Jaehee Kang: I think that’s a wise decision...though it is sad when a friendship comes to an end.

Jumin Han: It is a mature way to settle the matter as you could have chosen to simply throw out their belongings.

Yoosung★: ^^;; Thanks.

Jumin Han: No need. But if I’m reading this correctly, you’ve found someone with medical proficiency to treat your abnormal symptoms while moving your responsibilities to a nocturnal schedule.

Jumin Han: But you have not previously mentioned anything until Zen blurted it out.

ZEN: …Hey. Don’t say it like that.

Jumin Han: I am only stating what has happened—but more importantly, it seems only Zen is familiar with this person. Is there a reason for secrecy?

Jumin Han: Are her credentials not yet matching her skill level?

ZEN: What are you saying? Of course her credentials are up to snuff! Yoosung is doing way better now; don’t talk like that doesn’t count.

Jumin Han: -_-

Jumin Han: Once again, you have misread me. I am well aware that there are many talents and prodigies that get held back from attaining their highest potential due to various circumstances.

Jumin Han: I was simply inquiring as to whether the reservation of her details is a measure of protection for her professional status

Jaehee Kang: Do you think she may be practicing outside of her scope…?

Yoosung★: It’s not like that! She’s perfectly qualified and really brilliant…I just got caught up in trying to juggle classes.

Yoosung★: It was a little while before things started getting better, but once I could feel it…I think I got too excited and just kind of…got tunnel vision in the process.

Yoosung★: I’m sorry. I should have checked in with you guys more often…I didn’t mean to worry you.

Jaehee Kang: Yoosung…no one could blame you for focusing on recovery, especially not under these circumstances.

Jumin Han: Assistant Kang is correct; there is no need to apologize for prioritizing your health.

ZEN:…yeah, Mr. CEO is right. Don’t be sorry, we’re just glad you’re ok.

ZEN: And with such a cute nurse helping you get better, it’s no wonder you got distracted lol

707: ?!

707: Oooh, so you’ve seen her then? ( ✧ω✧)

ZEN: …

ZEN: Ahh, I’ve got to go, the director is calling me! Catch you all latersorryYoosung!!

[ZEN has left the chatroom]

Jaehee Kang: …

Jumin Han: …

707: It looks like our Yoosung isn’t just recovering…

707: he’s evolving—into a man!

707: Yoosungie, are u hiding Miss Nurse from us until u can summon ur courage?

707: Because I have something for that if you’d like

Yoosung★: I don’t need it.

707: ?!

707: ( ✧Д✧)

Jaehee Kang: ?

Yoosung★: If she has time, I’ll ask if she wants to come to the conference and introduce her properly.

Yoosung★: Thanks again, everyone! I’ll be back sooner, I promise!

Yoosung★: But for now, I’m going to go box up that stuff for the courier. See you later!

 

[Yoosung★ has left the chatroom]

* * *

 

Though Yoosung technically didn’t have anything to return, he still enlisted the help of a courier.

 

“Yoosung, why don’t you just bring your friend to me and let me help him directly?”

 

Yoosung hesitated while watching the woman, now _officially_ his girlfriend, seal up the small pouch containing her potent blood. Hooking the drawstring around a short dowel rod, she called to one of the feathery wardens to settle on her forearm. The crow stretched out a foot to take one end of the wood into its talons as Yoosung came closer with a zoomed in satellite view of an address displayed on his phone.

“Will he understand like this?” Yoosung asked as the bird tilted its head, peering into his screen. Tossing a lock of hair back over her shoulder, she chuckled before bringing the crow to eye level.

“East side of the campus fountain, south of the cafeteria; just leave it in the window box and keep a watch until the occupant takes it—there will be a whole carton of blueberries in it for you.”

With a rallying squawk, the crow zoomed out of the balcony towards the university, leaving behind a small flurry of black feathers in its wake. Chuckling at the mess, Yoosung had already bent to scoop up the fluff before the visiting cats decided to roll in it.

 

“You didn’t answer me before—how come, Yoosung?”

 

Tossing the feathers in the trash, Yoosung re-entered the living room, deep in contemplation before he answered.

“The whole reason this happened to me is because I was trying to help him—he bit me as I was taking away his empty beer bottle, can you believe it?”

There was a muffled laugh before she clamped her hand over her mouth; Yoosung gave her a strong fake pout.

“I’m sorry, I just…I‘ve been wondering this whole time why your wrist instead of the traditional…anyway—ok, I can understand. But you do remember that I can protect myself, right?”

Now that he’d had gotten in enough practice, Yoosung easily wove his arms through hers and tugged until her body was comfortably flush against his own, effectively disrupting her skeptical frown.

 

“I know I’m new to being a…a boyfriend,’ he took a pause to let the phrase settle in; an affirming peck on his lips jumpstarted his brain to continue the thought, ‘…but it doesn’t seem like a good boyfriend would put his girlfriend in a position to where she might _have to_ defend herself from jerks with poor control. Plus, it wouldn’t be good if word got out that you might be the cure…”

 

The tone remained light but she could feel his arms tightening ever so slightly around her frame; noting his amethyst eyes hardened at the edge with anxiety, the healer stroked his cheek soothingly.

“I’m pretty sure I could withstand any potential ambush, but… if it’s going to worry you this much, I’ll look into other options, ok?”

A reluctant smile finally tugged at the corner of his mouth; Yoosung leaned into the tender hand and sighed.

“Please do. This whole experience has proven that I’m not good at being a vampire, and I really can’t stand the idea of not being able to fight a stronger one from coming after you….”

 

There was a beat of silence.

 

“Hmm…you say you’re a terrible vampire but I can’t help but notice you seem to enjoy certain aspects well enough…”

 

“…What do you mean?”

 

“Is this how you intend to travel? Just levitate and float around from now on then? My slippers fell off two minutes ago.”

 

A guilty grin split across his face, crinkling his eyes.

“I can’t help it, it’s fun! I’m getting better at it too, look—!”

There was a startled yelp as she fell across his chest when he reclined almost parallel to the countertops—in the middle of the living room.

Feeling her struggle to adjust her position without falling, Yoosung smiled; pulling from behind her shoulder, he steadied her until she pivoted her hips to where she could lean back against him somewhat comfortably.

“See what I mean? The springs in my mattress are old and sticking out, so I ended up learning how to sleep over my bed for most of the night!”

Hearing the pride at his sense of accomplishment, the casual mage allowed herself to stretch and relax against Yoosung as his satisfaction kept them afloat…though he seemed to have difficulty deciding where to place his hands.

This was not a problem for the witch; letting an arm fall to the side of his throat, she snaked her hand into the soft tufts of bright gold, trailing her fingers along the backside of his neck until he couldn’t contain his pleasured shivering.

 

“Yes, I can see you have some definite advantages here…’

She shimmied her way up a little higher, leaning her head back against his cheek. Feeling the telltale sign of nervousness as he stiffened beneath her, she hesitated a moment as Yoosung descended a few centimeters before stabilizing once more. Angling her face to his cheek, the nurse left a lingering kiss as her warm breath tingled at his earlobe.

‘Yes, I do think this is just the ideal position to get comfortable and, I dunno, maybe _enjoy a meal_.”

 

The second his eyelids hid against her bare shoulders, she could feel his blush heating her skin; laughing as he trembled in the air.

 

“Why do you _do_ this to me…?” he whimpered through his chuckling, breath hitting her back.

“Do what? Make obvious allusions reminding you that you’re the only one I’ll offer my neck to?’

His gasp was barely audible, but the gleam in her eyes made it clear.

‘—Because I love how much more color you show now, and it seems like you need reminding on occasion.”

Yoosung groaned, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck until the magic user giggled at the sensation.

 

“What if I don’t even get hungry next month?” he wondered aloud; the prospect seemed almost bizarre after so long, Yoosung almost couldn’t even imagine it. A thoughtful sigh left the woman’s lips as she contemplated this possibility, crossing her arms and leaning into his hold.

 

“Hm…I suppose that could actually happen now, huh? You may not even need me anymore…”

He knew she was teasing, but his arms pressed her closer instinctively; she squeaked when he nipped her earlobe.

 

“I may not need you…but I’ll still…I’ll still _want you…_ ”

 

Yoosung was grateful for his position as it made hiding his face a bit easier…though the radiating heat still gave him away.

 

“I certainly hope so; I have plans to keep you interested—ohh!”

The sudden drop in the air surprised them both. Fighting to control his face, Yoosung attempted a smirk before looking her in the eyes.

“Magical plans?”

“…Do I need them to be?”

“Did you _ever_?”

A fresh wave of giggles permeated the space until the woman caught her breath once more.

“Alright, if you’re going for a record then let’s hang out over my bed—if we eventually fall, I’d prefer a soft landing if you don’t mind.”

Letting his chuckling subside, Yoosung nodded, kissing her brow when she turned to him. They were halfway to the bedroom when a question finally crossed his memory.

 

“Speaking of magic—what _did_ you do to that guy back at the Moonlight market?”

“Hm?”

“I think you pulled him down and put your hands over his eyes before you…um…”

“Oh that! I uh…may have—perhaps…jinxed his eyes to…water uncomfortably? Just anytime he leers at a woman who doesn’t want his attention.”

Settling at about half a meter over the thick comforters spread out over the mattress, Yoosung raised an eyebrow.

“For how long…?”

The woman in his arms began to fidget with the ends of her hair as she mentally calculated his query.

“…That’s…a good question. Probably when he learns how to show basic respect? So technically speaking, that's really up to him..."

Considering this, Yoosung began to nod as he finally clasped his arms around her waist.

 

“You know, that’s probably nicer than what my sister would do.”

 

Laughter bounced off the walls around them as they hovered comfortably in the filtered rays of sunset streaming through the windows.

As he traced pathways along her sides, planting his lips where he thought the skin seemed lonely, Yoosung briefly contemplated his journey over the last year before giving his attention to more demanding processes.

Were things back to normal? No…Yoosung couldn’t say that.

As he supported the most important change in his life while she muffled her moans and labored breathing behind her fist, Yoosung switched gears for just a moment to clutch her gently to him, burying a grateful smile into the hair draped over her shoulder. Listening to her heavy heartbeat, Yoosung opened his eyes to find her looking back to him with a curious smile.

“It’s nothing,’ he grinned, shaking his head, ‘…I’m just really happy right now.”

Raising an eyebrow, she took his lips and drew him in deeply with her own, tracing her tongue over his gradually shrinking canines until a tiny groan escaped.

 

“Yoosung Kim, you beautiful fool…that’s _everything.”_

 

With his face glowing before his hands resumed their travels, Yoosung came to a conclusion:

 

Things weren’t normal; **they were better.**

 

 _'Besides...I've never liked spending money on taxi cabs anyway_...'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, y'all stuck it out and I'm much appreciative! This story evolved quite a bit from the initial debut on Halloweek...which is...probably why I couldn't...get it out on time...
> 
> orz
> 
> I want to say that this story is fully done and makes sense, but as I wrote this via several sleepless nights, I highly encourage anyone to inform me if bits of this were impossible to picture or comprehend. Otherwise, thank you and I hope this comedic daydream was as fun to read as it was for me to think it up. 
> 
> See ya~!


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